1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to candies and, more particularly, to candies delivering physical stimulus.
2. Discussion of Art
Singultus is a spontaneous reflexive motion of the diaphragm that produces the malady known as hiccups. Although hiccups are associated with excessive laughter, the malady in itself is no laughing matter. Indeed, singultus is derived from the Latin word for “sobbing”, which closely describes the diaphragmatic motion during hiccups.
The diaphragm in humans is a sheet-like internal muscle disposed horizontally between the lungs and the digestive organs. The diaphragm is the key muscle that changes the volume of the human thoracic cavity, causing the lungs to alternately draw in and expel air. Additionally, the diaphragm is penetrated by the esophagus, by major blood vessels, and by several nerves associated with the digestive and genitourinary organs.
Singultus disrupts normal rhythmic motion of the diaphragm, thereby interfering with breathing; digestion; and blood flow. In a brief episode, singultus is uncomfortable and inconvenient. Prolonged or chronic singultus can make life miserable.
Numerous folklore cures are known for singultus. Among more than two hundred possible remedies, some include swallowing pickle juice or other acidic liquids; startling with the help of another person; swallowing crystal sugar; drinking a glass of water or other liquid in various strange postures; and sucking one's thumb. Each of these remedies can sometimes be successful, for some people. Many of these remedies are inconvenient, or unpalatable either physiologically or culturally. For example, pickle juice, sugar, or vinegar are not readily available except in a kitchen. In particular, these liquids cannot be obtained in case hiccups come on in a crowded public place. Similarly, thumb-sucking is not a publicly acceptable behavior above the age of about four.
Additionally, it is believed that none of these remedies individually is entirely reliable. In particular, chronic or intractable hiccups lack any known reliable low-cost remedy. Therefore, some sufferers have been driven to seek drastic and expensive fixes such as surgical severing of the phrenic nerve that controls the motion of the diaphragm. This “cure” causes complete paralysis of one half the diaphragm, which results in permanent difficulty breathing.
Thus a need exists for a broadly reliable and publicly employable means for curing singultus.